Lighting crews are rushing to inspect old poles around the city of Detroit after two old steel poles came crashing down in high winds Thursday, leaving cars damaged and a family thankful they avoided injury.
But a woman was injured in February when a falling light pole struck her as she walking near Howard and Sixth Street in downtown Detroit.
A spokesman for the City of Detroit says, beginning this weekend, crews will be inspecting light poles and removing any poles that may pose a risk of falling.
"A key reason the timeline on the project to relight the city has been sped up by at least a year is to replace old poles like these," said the Detroit Building Authority's Dave Manardo in a statement to 7 Action News. "We have been working closely with the Public Lighting Authority as it moves into the final stages of this program, which is moving quickly from the neighborhoods into the greater downtown area. The majority of these poles will be replaced in the coming weeks and months. However, due to our concerns over recent incidents involving old poles that have fallen, usually after a period of high winds, we will be sending city and PLA crews out to visually inspect our older poles across the city and address any that are deemed to be in a condition that warrants immediate removal. We expect the inspection process to be completed by the middle of next week."
